Casing

This is a special pipe (steel) slightly smaller in diameter than the drilling bit. It fits in to the hole leaving a little margin for the cement to be placed between the outside of casing and the wall of the hole. The hole becomes slightly bigger than the normal diameter of the bit, on account of the slight lateral movement of bit. Why casing is required? 1. It prevents caving tendencies of unconsolidated formation, especially in the surface hole. 2. It also helps in preventing escape of formation fluids through the well from one stratum to another, 3. Water must be prevented from entering the oil and gas yielding strata from overlying or underlying formations. 4. Gas and oil must be confined within the well casing so that they may not escape into overlying formations. 5. The casing affords as a means of attaching a control valve through which flow of gas and oil may be regulated and pressure within the well is controlled Quality of casing: Casing string should have sufficient strength, adequate to withstand with stress to which it subjected in the well. It should be water tight particularly if it is to be used in sealing off water It should be made of material that resists corrosion or be protected against corrosion, particularly when in contact with saline ground waters. The material of which the casing is made should be hard and tough and rigid enough to resist abrasion and distortion by contact with the rock walls of the well or drilling tools TYPES OF CASING Casing types involve the character of the material from which the tubes are made, the method of their manufacture, the design of the joints and especially the method of connecting one individual section to another. A number of casing are required depending upon the total depth to be reached. 1. Conductor Casing 2. Surface Casing 3. Intermediate Casing 4. Production casing

Casing Scheme CONDUCTOR CASING The well is usually spudded with a bigger diameter of hole. If drilling begins in soft formation, a false conductor casing which is the largest diameter casing in the well is normally lowered to a depth of about 500 ft depending upon the local condition. Conductor casing having a diameter of 30 inch to go through the complete water depth SURFACE CASING STRING Surface casing is the first string of casing set in a well and is lowered for the purpose of supporting the walls of the hole in unconsolidated surface formations, shutting off surface water or shallow fresh water or shallow fresh water zones, and as an anchor string for blow out preventer equipment.

The length of surface casing set in a well will depend on the thickness of the unconsolidated surface section, the presence and depth of shallow fresh water sands to be protected and anticipated formation pressures to be encountered in drilling. Surface casing is usually set around 1,000 ft or so, depending upon the area, lithology as well as desired projected depth of the well. The main purpose of lowering the surface casing is to: Protect water To protect unconsolidated formations Provide primary pressure control (BOP usually nippled up on surface casing) Support subsequent casings Casing of loss circulation zones The casing sizes of surface casing range from 7 5/8 inch in shallow wells to 20 inch in deep wells.

Intermediate casing string After 20 inch casing is set, the hole is deepened to certain desired depth, which is dependent upon the area and projected depth of the well. The idea of lowering the intermediate string of casing is to case the caving formations, upper gas or oil sands, or any fresh water bearing sections that must be protected and which are above the proposed producing horizon of the well.

PRODUCTION CASING STRING: When the oil and/or gas producing horizon is approached or after it has been drilled, it is then necessary to set the string of casing into which the oil and / or gas from the formation will flow. This casing also supports the wall of the bore hole and prevents contamination of the producing zone by foreign fluids. The production string may be set above the producing horizon. Production casing string is the last and deepest casing string run in the hole. It is through the lower most pay zone, depending on the type of completion to be performed. Purpose: The main purpose of this casing is To complete well for production i)Effect zonal isolation ii)Protect pressure control To provide pressure control

The common sizes are 4 , 5, 7 and 9 5 inch

LINERS In case, some well complications like high pressure zone, mud loss zone, etc., are encountered, a liner is set to seal such zones. The section of the liner in the pay zone may

be wire wrapped screen pipe with openings as small as 0.008 inch, or slotted or perforated pipe may be used with openings as large as inch or above.

ADVANTAGE OF LINER In case of anticipated well complication, a liner can be lowered as completion string. Require less casing in well Permit completing with larger tubing for high flow capacities.

Casing Accessories: In order to protect the lower end of the casing and also to assist in guiding the casing through minor obstruction in the hole, a heavy casing shoe is attached to the bottom of the first joint of the casing string. This shoe is a very steel collar with a rounded bull plug nose made of concrete plastic, or other drillable material, since this nose will ordinarily be drilled out. Incorporated in the nose may be a valve designed to permit flow from the casing into the hole, but preventing a reversal of this flow. A casing shoe with such a valve is called a float shoe. Heavy steel spring guides, called centralizers should be attached to centralize the pipe in the hole, to prevent the casing from leaving against the walls of the hole and to have velocity profiles and better mud displacement. Without centralizers the casing will contract the formation and it will not be possible to get a cement sheath completely around the pipe. Generally one centralizer is attached on the bottom joint and every joint throughout the pay zone, then one on every other joint for 60 metres (200 ft) above pay zone. If deviation is severe, centralizer should be attached on every joint.

Scratchers are generally used in production string only, as it is on these strings that precise segregation of zones is necessary. Scratcher can be used on other also, depending on the circumstances. Selection of interval to be scratched, depends on the pay section characteristics, segregation of water zones, high gas-oil ratio or gas zones, and strata within the oil zone having greatly different permabilities are the usual goals. There is, of course, no point in scratching dense impermeable zones, where no mud cake exists. Caliper logs are helpful in both ways, i.e. to know the mud cake to be scratched and the enlarged zones in which the scratcher cannot reach the wall.